Image source, Reuters
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- Author, Hugo Bachega
- Author's title, Middle East correspondent in Jerusalem
- Author, Mallory Moench
- Author's title, BBC News in London
The leaders of the West countries have condemned the videos in which Israeli hostages are seen in Gaza, demacred while they are filmed by their captors, and the Red Cross has asked that access to all the people who remain in captivity be allowed.
The United Kingdom Foreign Minister David Lammy said that “hostages of hostages displayed for propaganda purposes are disgusting” and that the kidnapped must be released “unconditionally.”
The calls occur after the Palestinian Islamic jihad published a video of Rom Braslavski on Thursday – in which he looks thin and crying – and that Hamas published on Saturday images of a Deadly avoiding David.
Israeli leaders accused Hamas of depriving their hostages from food.
Hamas's armed arm denied that he intentionally deprived the prisoners, stating that hostages eat the same as their combatants and people in the midst of a hunger crisis in Gaza.
Both Braslavski, 21, and David, 24, were taken as hostages at the Nova Music Festival on October 7, 2023 during the attack led by Hamas against South Israel.
They are among the 49 hostages, of the 251 taken originally, which, according to Israel, are still held in Gaza. This includes 27 hostages that are believed to be dead.
Reactions to images
Image source, Other
After the publication of the videos, the Israeli prime minister, Benjamín Netanyahu, spoke with the families of the two hostages, expressing their deep shock and telling them that the efforts to return to all the hostages were going to continue constantly and tirelessly.
On Sunday, Netanyahu communicated with the director of the Red Cross in the region, asking him to intervene immediately and to provide food and medical care for hostages.
The International Red Cross Committee (ICRC) was dismayed by the videos, which showed clear evidence of the precarious living conditions in which hostages are retained.
The organization reiterated their call to be allowed to access hostages to evaluate their status, provide them with medical assistance and facilitate contact with their families.
The armed arm of Hamas, the Al-Qassam brigades, said that it would respond positively to any application of the Red Cross to deliver food and medicines to the prisoners if humanitarian corridors were opened towards Gaza on a regularly and permanent way, and air attacks were ceased while the help was received.
“Libernlos to all!”
Image source, Getty Images
The Red Cross has faced strong criticisms in Israel for its role in war, with accusations of not having helped hostages retained in Gaza.
Earlier this year, in the midst of indignation for the chaotic scenes that left the release of hostages as part of an agreement between Israel and Hamas, the organization explained the limits of its role, stating that it depends on the goodwill of the belligerent parts to operate in conflict areas.
He has also received criticism from the Palestinians, since the group has not been able to visit the Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli prisons since October 7, 2023.
The weekend, in Tel Aviv, multitudes of protesters and hostage families congregated once again to demand from the Israeli government the liberation of the hostages.
The families of David and Braslavski declared in a demonstration on Saturday that “everyone must leave hell, already.”
In a video, Braslavski is seen crying while he says that he has run out of food and water and that he only ate three “Falafel crumbs” that day. He says he cannot stand or walk and that “he is at the gates of death.”
Image source, Other
Braslavski's family declared in a statement that “they had managed to break Rom” and begged Israeli and American leaders to bring their son back home.
“They simply forgot about him,” they said.
In the second video, David says: “I've been without eating for days … I barely have drinking water” and he is seen digging what, according to him, will be his own grave.
His family said they were “killing him in Hamas's tunnels, in Gaza, deliberate and cynically: a living skeleton, buried alive.”
The German Foreign Minister Friedrich Merz declared himself “horrified” by the images and added that the release of all hostages was a mandatory prerequisite for a high fire between Israel and Hamas.
The French president, Emmanuel Macron, who described Hamas as “cruelty abject,” added that France continues to work tirelessly for the release of hostages, the restoration of the high fire and the entry of humanitarian aid to Gaza.
He added that this effort must be accompanied by a political solution, with a solution of two states “in which Israel and Palestine live together in peace.” France recently announced its intention to recognize a Palestinian State, together with Canada and the United Kingdom, under certain conditions. Israel has strongly condemned these measures.
Famine
Image source, Getty Images
The images of emaciated hostages come to light while the agencies backed by the UN affirm that “the worst possible scenario is the famine” in Gaza, with reports of malnutrition deaths every day.
The Ministry of Health, led by Hamas, declared on Sunday that 175 people, including 93 children, have died of malnutrition since the beginning of the war.
The UN, the humanitarian aid agencies and some allies of Israel attribute the food crisis to the Israeli restrictions to the entry and delivery of humanitarian aid. Israel denies the accusation and blames Hamas.
Despite the overwhelming evidence, the Israeli authorities and part of the country's press flatly reject that it has famous in Gaza and claim that the crisis is a lie invented by Hamas and disseminated by international means.
Israeli protesters have shown photos of emaciated children who demand an agreement with Hamas, but many in Israel seem to ignore the magnitude of the emergency.
As the war continues, Israel faces increasing international isolation, since generalized destruction in Gaza and the suffering of the Palestinians cause outrage.
Surveys worldwide suggest that public opinion is increasingly negative towards Israel, which presses leaders to act.
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